1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of telephone calling cards and services and, more particularly to a network controlled telephone for the visually impaired.
2. Description of the Related Art
Calling cards have become increasingly popular in today's society. These cards allow a user to charge the cost of telephone calls to the calling card account. Typically, the caller indicates that the telephone call should be charged to the calling card account by dialing a special telephone number, dialing the calling card number and a personal identification number (PIN) and then dialing the number to be called. The costs are billed to the caller on a monthly basis. Thus, the caller only has to pay for calls, even calls made at a public or pay telephone, once a month as long as the telephone calls are charged to the calling card account.
Visually impaired callers have difficulty dialing telephone numbers and paying for their telephone calls when they are placed at a public or pay telephone. A calling card could be used to help the visually impaired caller pay for telephone calls made at public or pay telephones. When a visually impaired caller has a calling card, however, the caller encounters difficulty entering not only the telephone numbers, but also the calling card account number and PIN.
In addition, calling card theft has increased over the years. A thief in possession of another's calling card may be able to charge numerous telephone calls, particularly long distance telephone calls, to the stolen calling card account before the rightful owner of the card has discovered the theft and canceled the card. Oftentimes, the original owner of the card gets stuck with the bill. Sometimes, the owner can persuade the calling card service provider not to bill them for the calls when the owner proves that the card was stolen. In this scenario, it is the calling card service provider that loses money. Today, these service providers are losing a great deal of money every time unauthorized users, i.e., thieves, charge calls to stolen calling cards.
The calling card service provider, which typically is also the telephone service provider, relies on the use of the PIN to counteract the theft of calling cards. As stated earlier, however, the visually impaired caller has difficulty dialing the PIN as well as dialing the telephone and calling card numbers. Other service providers have begun using pre-paid calling cards to counteract calling card theft. In theory, these cards are less attractive to a thief because they are limited by dollar amount and thus, limited in the amount that can be charged to the card. However, a thief is not prevented from making calls once the thief gets a hold of the card. Here, it is the purchaser of the pre-paid card that suffers the loss. Thus, there is a desire and need for a calling card and calling card service that is suitable for use by a visually impaired caller while also limiting the financial risk of the calling card account owner and service provider.